Key takeaways:
- Aaron Farinacci, 37, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree arson in connection with the Old Trails fire near Spokane.
- Authorities said about 65,000 people have been displaced by three wildfires burning in and around Spokane.
- No deaths or injuries have been reported, though officials are trying to reach 14 people they have not been able to contact by mobile phone.
Authorities in Washington state have arrested a 37-year-old man on a first-degree arson charge tied to the Old Trails fire, the most destructive of three wildfires burning in and around Spokane, where tens of thousands of residents have fled their homes.
Aaron Farinacci, a convicted felon, was arrested Monday at his home without incident, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said. His home was searched, and he is being held on a $1 million bond, Al Jazeera reported. County prosecutor Preston McCollam said Farinacci was expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf, according to the Associated Press.
Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said investigators received a tip from a citizen who reported seeing a man “bending down near some grass” in the area where the Old Trails fire is believed to have started. Al Jazeera reported that the witness allegedly saw him kneeling in grass. Authorities detained Farinacci early in the investigation, questioned him and released him, Nowels said. Major crimes detectives and investigators later arrested him again as more details emerged.
Nowels said authorities believe Farinacci used matches or a lighter to start the fire. Both items were found on him at the time of his arrest, he said. Officials said the cause of the fires remains under investigation.
The fires have been driven by high winds, high temperatures and dry weather. Authorities said about 65,000 people have been displaced since the fires erupted over the weekend. NPR reported that the fires have destroyed about 700 buildings and burned through 7,000 acres. Al Jazeera, citing the federal interagency fire information system InciWeb, reported that the fires have burned a combined 8,026 acres, and said officials estimated aerial assessments showed between 700 and 1,110 structures had been destroyed.
No deaths or injuries have been reported. Officials are trying to contact 14 people they have been unable to reach by mobile phone, though Nowels said they are not currently considered missing, Al Jazeera reported.
The blazes have forced evacuations of businesses, the region’s Veterans Affairs hospital campus and other healthcare facilities. Hundreds of evacuees, including many elderly residents, have taken shelter at the Spokane Convention Center, where the Red Cross is operating a shelter. Nursing staff helped people change clothes behind blankets.
Charlie Patrick, 54, who is disabled, evacuated Saturday and is staying at the shelter with her son. She said she left her apartment with nothing and does not know whether it burned down.
“I hope it is still there,” she said, choking back tears. “I have a lot of memories and pictures and stuff of my family I can’t get back.”
Firefighters on Monday and Tuesday were trying to use a brief break in strong winds to contain the fires before another heat wave forecast for midweek. Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown told NPR’s Morning Edition that the city of 230,000 people faced “an unprecedented situation.”
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson described Spokane as a “war zone” in an interview with NPR’s Here & Now on Monday.
“It’s devastating,” Ferguson said, adding that neighborhoods in the city had been “wiped out.” He said he spoke with President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Sunday and requested a federal emergency declaration for immediate relief, including housing, food and search-and-rescue assistance.
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